Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $10.77, but opened at $11.21. Heartland Express shares last traded at $11.01, with a volume of 115,030 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 93,496 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.81 per share, with a total value of $1,010,691.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 290,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,135,008.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust purchased 14,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.39 per share, for a total transaction of $185,019.87. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,727.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 93,496 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.81 per share, for a total transaction of $1,010,691.76. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 290,010 shares in the company, valued at $3,135,008.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 403,334 shares of company stock valued at $4,227,955. Company insiders own 39.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.25.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. The business had revenue of $270.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. Lesa Sroufe & Co lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 113,694 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,467 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 292.4% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 108,999 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 81,220 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 74.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,218 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 9,884 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Heartland Express by 0.8% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 605,175 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,226,000 after acquiring an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management lifted its position in Heartland Express by 43.0% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 58,015 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 17,457 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.